Acrylamide is an unsaturated amide produced in food mainly due to high-temperature cooking processes. It is a by-product of the Maillard reaction between an amino acid (asparagine) and a carbohydrate (namely a reducing sugar, like glucose, fructose or lactose) at high temperature. Due to the potential genotoxicity and neurotoxicity of acrylamide, in 2018 the European Union established by law a set of guidelines to reduce its content in food, as well as the reference maximum acceptable levels of such contaminant for different types of food. Acrylamide can be present in several foodstuffs, especially those with a high content of carbohydrates. Among all the possible examples of acrylamide formation in food processing, this thesis will focus on the industrial production of potato chips and on the possible strategies to reduce the acrylamide content formed during the frying step. In particular, the thesis will analyse the optimization study performed by a company specialized in the production of potato chips concerning the use of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) treatment. PEF is a non-thermal treatment that has started to become popular in food processing and biotechnology in the XXI century. It can be used for liquid or semi-solid food and consists in the application of high voltage electric pulses (10-80 kV/cm) for short times (from microseconds to milliseconds). As a result, reducing sugars and amino acids are released by cellular tissues in raw food and their diffusion decreases the probability to take part into the Maillard reaction and to form acrylamide. Experiments performed both on a laboratory scale and on industrial plants will be reported and discussed, showing that PEF treatment of raw potato chips effectively resulted in a considerably lower content of acrylamide after frying, if compared to untreated potatoes. Moreover, the quality and sensory characteristics of potato chips were maintained, even with an improvement of their final colour, texture and crispness.
L’acrilammide è un’ammide insatura che si forma nei cibi a seguito di processi di cottura ad alte temperature. È un co-prodotto della reazione di Maillard tra un amminoacido (asparagina) e un carboidrato (in particolare uno zucchero riducente, come glucosio, fruttosio o lattosio) ad alte temperature. A causa della possibile genotossicità e neurotossicità dell’acrilammide, nel 2018 l’Unione Europea ha stabilito una serie di linee guida per ridurne il contenuto e ha fissato i livelli massimi accettabili di acrilammide per ciascun prodotto alimentare. L’acrilammide si può trovare in diversi alimenti, ma è contenuta soprattutto in quelli ad alto contenuto di carboidrati. Tra tutti i possibili esempi della formazione di acrilammide, questa tesi si focalizzerà sulla produzione industriale di patatine e sulle possibili strategie per ridurre il contenuto di acrilammide durante la frittura. In particolare, la tesi analizzerà lo studio di ottimizzazione eseguito da un’azienda specializzata nella produzione di patatine relativo al trattamento con il campo elettrico pulsato (PEF). Il PEF è un trattamento non termico che è diventato famoso a partire dal XXI secolo nella produzione alimentare e nel campo delle biotecnologie. Può essere usato per cibi liquidi o semisolidi e consiste nell’applicazione di pulsazioni elettriche ad alto voltaggio (10-80 kV/cm) per tempi brevi (da microsecondi a millisecondi). Come risultato, gli zuccheri riducenti e gli amminoacidi vengono rilasciati dai tessuti cellulari nel cibo crudo e la loro diffusione fa diminuire la probabilità che essi inneschino la reazione di Maillard e formino l’acrilammide. In seguito, verranno riportati e discussi gli esperimenti eseguiti sia in laboratorio che su scala industriale, dai quali emerge come il trattamento PEF effettuato su patate crude diminuisca in modo efficace la quantità di acrilammide presente dopo la frittura, se confrontato con patate non trattate. Inoltre, le caratteristiche qualitative e organolettiche delle patatine vengono non soltanto mantenute, ma addirittura migliorate per quanto riguarda il colore del prodotto finale, la sua consistenza e croccantezza.
The acrylamide issue in food industry : a case study
Raja, Ludovica Maria
2020/2021
Abstract
Acrylamide is an unsaturated amide produced in food mainly due to high-temperature cooking processes. It is a by-product of the Maillard reaction between an amino acid (asparagine) and a carbohydrate (namely a reducing sugar, like glucose, fructose or lactose) at high temperature. Due to the potential genotoxicity and neurotoxicity of acrylamide, in 2018 the European Union established by law a set of guidelines to reduce its content in food, as well as the reference maximum acceptable levels of such contaminant for different types of food. Acrylamide can be present in several foodstuffs, especially those with a high content of carbohydrates. Among all the possible examples of acrylamide formation in food processing, this thesis will focus on the industrial production of potato chips and on the possible strategies to reduce the acrylamide content formed during the frying step. In particular, the thesis will analyse the optimization study performed by a company specialized in the production of potato chips concerning the use of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) treatment. PEF is a non-thermal treatment that has started to become popular in food processing and biotechnology in the XXI century. It can be used for liquid or semi-solid food and consists in the application of high voltage electric pulses (10-80 kV/cm) for short times (from microseconds to milliseconds). As a result, reducing sugars and amino acids are released by cellular tissues in raw food and their diffusion decreases the probability to take part into the Maillard reaction and to form acrylamide. Experiments performed both on a laboratory scale and on industrial plants will be reported and discussed, showing that PEF treatment of raw potato chips effectively resulted in a considerably lower content of acrylamide after frying, if compared to untreated potatoes. Moreover, the quality and sensory characteristics of potato chips were maintained, even with an improvement of their final colour, texture and crispness.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/177532